Dave's path to normal BMI

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180ismygoal

New member
Greetings to all.....

Today I am one full month into my effort to obtain (and maintain) a normal BMI. I have been lurking on these boards during that time, gaining motivation from all of the success stories, so I thought I would give back to the community and start a diary or sorts.

I started at 260 pounds and a BMI of 35.3, but today I am 242 pounds with a BMI of 32.8! To have a BMI not considered "overweight", I have to weigh less than 184 pounds. So, with 18 pounds gone I am 22.5% of the way to my goal so far!

My biggest problem with maintaining a healthy weight has been alcohol consumption. I have come to the conclusion that my level of drinking has been preventing me from being a healthy person and am actively working through a plan with a professional to put alcohol in it's proper place in my life. I've had one drink (on my 24th wedding anniversary) in the last 38 days.

I know this isn't an alcohol moderation board, but for me controlling my alcohol consumption is 90% of my battle to loose weight. When I drink I don't feel like exercising, make poor food choices, and consume all the extra calories from the alcohol.

So, how did I loose 18 pounds this month? Just like the old Smith Barney commercial used to say...."The Old Fashioned Way". I've worked at creating daily calorie deficits through; not drinking, eating sensible foods, and exercising. I have religously tracked all of my food and workouts using the PC version of FitDay (don't work for them, just a happy customer). It has made it quite easy for me to see what impact my food choices and exercise choices are making.

I typically come in at around 1800-2000 calories consumed per day. Breakfasts include oatmeal/brown sugar/V8, or 3 boiled eggs/fruit, or turkey breast sandwich on whole wheat. Lunches are mainly salads without cheese, seeds, nuts, or fatty dressing. Dinners are all over the place but have pretty much cut out the rib-eyes, white pasta, white bread, cream sauces. I've been eating a ton of fruit and have turned the whole family on to banana-strawberry smoothies made with skim milk. I love to cook (and am pretty darn good if I can brag), so for me it's kind of fun putting healthy dinners together that are visually appealling, tasty and filling.

For the flip side of the deficit, I've been burning calories by biking, playing tennis, and a combination workout on a stationary bike and stair stepper in my basement. I shoot for an hour everyday.

To me it's amazing how in just one month I can feel so much better. I can sleep through the night now, which used to be next to impossible. My moods are better. I don't really crave alcohol anymore. I can see muscle development in my legs and arms. My back pain that was nearly preventing me from golfing is mostly gone. My blood pressure is back to a normal number (117/68, down from 138/92).

My next sort term goal is coming up quick. 239 is a weight that I had to get down to 3 years ago to do a Boy Scout hiking trip in the rockies, and that is my next goal....shouldn't take too long. After that, it's 222 pounds. That's the cut off between overweight and obese BMI for me. Probably won't be there by next month's post, but I should be closing in for sure!

Here's to wishing everyone well and success in their efforts........Keep it going!

Dave
 
Welcome to the forum Dave! I tend to drink some of my calories too, so I know the struggle to control that urge is tough. Glad to hear you are getting professional help. You have a great start, keep it going!
 
Here's my month two check-in.....

This morning I weighed in at 229 pounds. That's a loss of 31 pounds in the last two months, which means I'm 39% of the way to my goal of....you guessed it....180 pounds.

Here's a list of things that I've had a good time with lately:
People starting to make comments because they noticed I've lost weight.
Moving our of 40 inch pants for 38s.
Wearing a belt that I used to not be able to get the ends to meet.
Seeing my jawline emerge from the fat layer
Seeing arm/leg muscle emerge from the fat layer.
Sleeping through the night
Easily going up 2 stairs at a time at work.

Still just doing things the old fashioned way, consuming fewer calories and burning more calories. As noted earlier, I used to drink a bunch of calories, but I've only had 6 drinks over these past two months. For me, this opens the door for me to be successful. When I don't drink I make better food choices, don't consume all those alcohol calories, and usually feel like doing something active.

Back when I started I did a bike ride from my town to Lake Michigan (33.5 miles) which took 3 hr 2min. I decided that I would work at reducing that time so I have been doing a few 1 hr rides a week for training. Last week I did the full ride in 2 hr 17 min! Gave me a great sense of accomplishment, so now I'm looking for some kind of next challenge as I found it a great motivator.

Another component of my motivation comes from keeping up a food/activity log everyday. I use the FitDay PC software and really find that it keeps me thinking throughout the day about what I've eaten, thus limiting the snacking/grazing calories.

Even though I don't post much, I read this forum most everyday and really gain a lot of motivation from everyone's success stories. I appreciate everyones' efforts and wish all of you the best.

Dave
 
Here's the three month check-in.....

This morning I weighed 214! That's a 15 pound loss in the last month, and a total of 46 pounds since Jun 24! I am now over half way (58%) to not being overweight.

The number of comments about my weight loss I've heard has skyrocketed over the last week or so which makes for great fun and motivation. People are saying that my face looks so different, which isn't too much of a surprise.....you can actually see my jaw line now!

I'm still using FitDay to record things I eat and my workouts. I find this to be very helpful in keeping my calorie deficit going. So when I want that hunk of rib-eye, I go to FitDay and figure out how much extra workout I have to do to maintain my deficit. It has sometimes been enough to help steer me into better food choices, other times just gives me the motivation to hit the workout longer to account for the treat. I promise I don't have any affiliation with FitDay, I just find that daily tracking of calories in and out is very useful to me. I'm sure there are other ways of doing this. The important thing for me is doing it everyday for everything I eat.

My stuggle with alcohol is pretty quiet right now. I'm hoping an praying that the counseling I've been doing has helped my to finally put that to rest for good. This past month I've had only one beer (a lite beer at that). Quite a change from the approx 4000 calories a week I was consuming in alcohol when I started in June.

My workouts have ramped up quite a bit over the last month. Bike rides of 32 miles (2 hr) are common on the weekends now with 1 hour rides on week nights. I've also thrown in some hiking to help prepare for a canadian wilderness canoe trip next week. I go to the nature preserve and go up and down a steep/long hill for about 90 minutes. If it's rainy, I hit the stairstepper/stationary bike in the basement.

I've really gotten into watching TV shows that deal with weight loss as I find them motivating. One is on BBC-America....You are what you eat, the other is The Biggest Loser.

I just realized that if I can keep up the pace that I've been on, the next update could very well have me under 200 pounds! I don't think I've been under 200 since 1993!

Here's wishing everyone success in their efforts.......see you next month.

Dave
 
Here's the 4 month update....incase anybody is reading.

Today I weighed 200 pounds (actually between 200 and 201, but 200 sounds better). That makes a total weight loss of 60 pounds over the past 4 months. The number of comments/conversations about my weight loss that I get is actually starting to get just a tad bit annoying, but is still a nice thing to keep me motivated. Makes me realize that I've really made significant changes in how I look. Someone recently started a conversation with my by asking if I was all right.....I wasn't sure what he meant until he said he was afraid that I had some sort of disease.

I continue to do things pretty much as described above, except that I've incorporated a good bit of weight lifting into my work out a few times a week. On those days I do 5 min on the bike, a set of weights, 5 min on the stair stepper, then a second set of the same weight lift, then repeat this rotation with a different weight lift exercise. Still targeting an hour on most days.

I had my blood drawn to check my cholesterol level yesterday. It will be interesting to see if it's low enough to stop taking my cholesterol meds....usually my cholesterol is over 300. My doc advised me to start taking only half of my blood pressure med since I've started to have problems of getting dizzy when I stand up. My blood pressure was 110/68 yesterday....it used to be about 140/90.

I've continued to keep my alcohol consumption in a healthy range. Over the last 4 months I've only had 10 drinks......that would easily have been a weekend day's worth of drinks for me in the past. The Alcohol Management program at UofMich has really helped me in this aspect of my change.

So, I'm 75% of my way to my goal...just 20 pounds more to go. The other day I was looking through the computer for a "pre" weight loss picture, and.....holy crap, was I fat. When I'm done, I'll post the pre and post.

Jessfrogger, if you're still out there reading.....I'm catching up to you!

Dave
 
Time for the 5 month update.....

Today I weighed in at 191, for a total weight loss of 69 pounds. I only lost 9 pounds this month. I say "only" because the prior four months I was averaging about 16 pounds per month. I've been doing a good bit of weight lifting, and can actually see the additional muscle I've added, so I'm figuring that is the cause. Certainly it couldn't be my insatiable sweet tooth and the fact that we just went through halloween :)

I've lost a bit over 25% of my body weight at this point. In general, I feel great. All of my problems like insomnia, gastric reflux, sweating, depression are completely gone. Unfortunately, it turns out that this much exercise isn't so good on an almost 48 year old joints. But the positive changes far outweigh the bad.

Way back this spring I made an unsuccessful attempt to loose weight and measured my waist with a piece of string. I ran across that piece of string last week, noticed the mark I had put on it to indicate my waist.....then you guessed it, I re-measured. I've lost a full 9 inches from my waist! I started out in 42 pants which were too tight, and this morning I put on 36 inch (fresh from the dryer) jeans that I could pull off without unbuttoning them.

Yesterday at work someone who I don't even really know asked, "where's the other half of you?" as she walked by my. It's been real fun running across people who haven't seen me in the last 5 months because the change in my appearance is dramatic. I'm looking forward to taking/posting those end product pictures.....could be this month, with only 11 pounds more to go.

Still doing the same things. I work out 5-6 nights a week. Since the weather has turned a bit here in MI, I spend most of my workouts in the basement. An hour on the stairstepper and bike. I do 15 minute blocks....9 on bike and 6 on stepper. Two nights a week I crank that up to a 90 minute workout where I through weight lifting in inbetween the bike/stepper.

Hope everyone that comes across this is doing well. Good luck in you efforts.

Dave
 
Congrats on the amazing weight loss and the complete turn around with your life.

Your goals are identical to mine in terms of starting weight and goal weight.

I started at 260 and my goal is 180 (a weight that I was at 14 years ago.)

My problem isn't booze though - it's just a sedentary lifestyle and a poor, high carb diet - so my plan is to go the old fashioned way just like you.

I've been 'dabbling' with the gym here and there but I'm planning to make that a regular habit. And I've changed my food habits significantly, focusing on making healthy, whole foods at home. I've enjoyed dabbling in the kitchen in the past on occasion - but now I'm taking that activity a lot more seriously.

Anyway, good luck with the last stretch. Looking forward to seeing the before and after pics!
 
Billy,
Wow, the similarity....or identicality or our goals is amazing. How tall are you? I'm right at 6'.

Not quite sure how/where to do a ticker, but being a science geek, I've been plotting/charting/analyzing my progress. I've attached a .pdf of the current graph.

BTW, I forgot to mention alcohol consumption in my 5mo update......kind of telling of where drinking is in my life now. I've had a total of 17 drinks since mid June. I frequently go weeks without a drink, and when I drink, it's never more than 2 "legal" drinks and never on back to back days. Pretty much changed my life.

Peace
 
hey hey! congrats on your goal reach so far! I gave up on BMI, just going off of bf%. I put on a ton of muscle during my weight loss journey, which BMI doesn't account for. Keep it up keep it up. You've gotta be looking great! I'm only 5'8" 222lbs and i can put ona size 36 without unbuttoning the pants as well! Do you have pics anywhere?
 
K-

I hear you on the BMI / BF% issue. Problem is I started with a wt goal and I want to meet my goal. I wanted to not be overweight. Once I get there, I would like to find a way to calculate BF% accurately. That way I can make some decisions about what I want to use to keep track of myself long term.

No pics yet. I'll do it when I hit my goal.....hopefully in the next month. My birthday is dec 19.....xmas on the 25th......hopefully I'll give myself a nice present of not being overweight. As the graph above shows, my original goal was to get to my goal by next june, I think I'll make that :)

Dave
 
180ismygoal said:
Billy,
Wow, the similarity....or identicality or our goals is amazing. How tall are you? I'm right at 6'.
Click to expand...

I'm 6 foot 1.5.

Currently in the 'obese' category according to my BMI but I never thought of myself as obese. I tend to carry my weight through my stomach and mid section and while I'm fatter in the face than I've ever been before, I don't have a fat face. (Or fat arms, legs...etc.)

Not quite sure how/where to do a ticker, but being a science geek, I've been plotting/charting/analyzing my progress. I've attached a .pdf of the current graph.
Click to expand...

Click on the ticker at the bottom of my posts and it'll take you to the site where you can sign up.
 
Time for the 6 month update on my march to "not being overweight".

This morning I weighed in at 188 pounds....only a 3 pound loss over the last month, BUT...makes for a total weight loss of 72 pounds over the last 6 months.

It is quite obvious at this point that the scale isn't a good measuring tool for me right now. My pants are significantly looser on me than they were a month ago, and I can see a continuing of muscle development due to the increased weight training. However, I started this with the goal of getting to 180 pounds, and I will acheive that goal.

I did a pretty crazy exercise gig earlier in Dec.....I had a business meeting in Chicago and stayed at the Marriott on Mich Ave. While looking for a workout on the first morning, I decided that I would walk the stairs (it's a 46 story building). After an hour of stairs I had put in nearly 300 floors, and made up my mind that I would do 1000 floors in the three days I was there. I actually finished at 1,002 floors in the three days! It's amazing to me to think that I never used the elevator, even though I was staying on the 45th floor and that 6 months ago it was a bit of a struggle to do the 2 floors to my office here at work.

I am happy to say that I continue to be able to keep my alcohol consumption at an appropriate level. I've had only 4 drinks since last month's check in. Not bad for someone who was averaging 4000 calories a week in alcohol 6 months ago.

The transformation in my body has been remarkable and I couldn't be happier with what I've accomplished, unless my hair turned back to black from it's mostly grey but I don't think that's going to happen. I am anxious to get to 180 so I can post my before and after pictures. Hopefully in my Jan post I can be there.

Here's wishing everyone a happy holiday season.

Dave
 
Congrats on your progress so far. I'm just starting on what I hope will be a similar path. Keep doing your monthly postings. Looking forward to reading them.
 
Hello everyone!

I know it's not quite time for my monthly update, but a significant event happened today that I really wanted to share.....actually, I want to shout it from the rooftop.

My goal is set at 180 pounds because I don't want to be overweight anymore and according to the BMI charts that's at 184 pounds for me at 6'0".....I figured I would go to 180 to give me some wiggle room.

TODAY I WEIGH 184 POUNDS AND AM NO LONGER OVERWEIGHT!!!!!!!!!

It gave me great joy this morning listening to a radio bit about 2/3 of americans being overweight/obese and realizing that those numbers didn't include me any more!

I remain committed to 180 pounds and will get there before my regular monthly update. I'll include my before and after pictures at that point.

I hope all of you get to where you want to be......it's a great feeling.

Dave
 
180ismygoal said:
Hello everyone!

I know it's not quite time for my monthly update, but a significant event happened today that I really wanted to share.....actually, I want to shout it from the rooftop.

My goal is set at 180 pounds because I don't want to be overweight anymore and according to the BMI charts that's at 184 pounds for me at 6'0".....I figured I would go to 180 to give me some wiggle room.

TODAY I WEIGH 184 POUNDS AND AM NO LONGER OVERWEIGHT!!!!!!!!!

It gave me great joy this morning listening to a radio bit about 2/3 of americans being overweight/obese and realizing that those numbers didn't include me any more!

I remain committed to 180 pounds and will get there before my regular monthly update. I'll include my before and after pictures at that point.

I hope all of you get to where you want to be......it's a great feeling.

Dave
Click to expand...


DUDE!...... YOU DID IT... THIS IS AMAZING... I'M GLAD I CHECKED BACK... I NOW HAVE BEEN REINSPIRED BY YOU! I remember when I first hit 184... it's an amazing feeling!!! Great job... You deserve it... all the hard work was worth it... and 180 is right around the corner man... fantastic!
 
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